By Ian s Palmer
Welterweight Diego Chaves of Argentina will square off with American Timothy Bradley over 12 rounds at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas this Saturday December 13. The bout can be seen live on HBO in Canada and the U.S. while British fans can catch the action on BoxNation. Both boxers are coming off of losses, but this shapes up to be a pretty good matchup and could feature a lot of fistic action. Chaves has a 1.5-inch height advantage, but Bradley has a 2.5-inch edge in reach.
The 31-year-old Bradley enters the bout with a mark of 31-1 along with 12 Kos. Bradley’s one and only loss came earlier this year when he dropped a unanimous decision to Manny Pacquiao in their April rematch. He’s well known for his speed, boxing ability and excellent chin, which he showed the world in his war against Ruslan Provodnikov last year. The 28-year-old Chaves also has a fine record and will climb through the ring ropes at 23-2 with 19 Kos. His only pro losses came against Keith Thurman by 10th round Ko in July of 2013 and then a ninth-round disqualification against Brandon Rios in August of this year. He’s fought just 103 rounds as a pro compared to 242 by Bradley.
Chaves enjoyed a fine amateur career and has adapted well to the pro game. He comes into the fight with a lot of power to go along with good hand speed and aggressiveness. He won the WBA’s interim title in July of 2013 when he knocked Ismael El Massoudi out in the second round. Chaves successfully defended the belt against Jose Miranda, but then ran into Thurman. The Argentine is a tough and rugged customer with quite a bit of power, but he’s up against a great chin in Bradley.
Bradley is also a fine ring technician and can usually adapt to his opponents in the ring. He’s an accurate puncher, but doesn’t possess a lot of power in his fists. However, he certainly has enough pop in his punches to stop anybody if he hits them on the button. He’s at his best when he moves inside and throws quick combinations. He’s going to find that Chaves is a pretty good boxer too with speed, and isn’t all about power punching. Chaves throws a lot of shots as he figures sooner or later he’s going to take the steam out of his opponent.
However, the problem with Chaves’ style is if he runs into somebody who can handle his power and return fire quickly and effectively. Bradley is a good counterpuncher and can fight from a distance, which could frustrate Chaves. If this happens we could see things turn a little ugly as Chaves doesn’t mind bending the rules to get an advantage.
Prediction
Chaves will likely be the aggressor and try to land some power shots on Bradley, but if the American can take them then he’s going to have to outbox Bradley and that’s not likely to happen. Chaves’ best chance of winning is by doing a lot of damage and at least decking Bradley if he can’t stop him. Basically, he needs to get Bradley to go toe-to-toe with him. Bradley wants to stay away from a slugfest and rack up points each round by boxing. Look for this to be an entertaining fight with Bradley taking it by a relatively close decision. A stoppage for Bradley is unlikely, but it’s a possibility here.
